Kilnwick appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, entered under the hundred of Sneculfcros in Yorkshire. The survey assessed Kilnwick at 2 carucates of taxable land.

At the time of the survey, Kilnwick supported a recorded population of 4 villagers, 4 smallholders, 1 slave, working 3 ploughs between them.

The numbers record a sharp fall. Before 1066, Kilnwick was worth 5 shillings; by 1086 that had dropped to 2 shillings – a fall of 60%. Most Yorkshire villages that lost value on this scale were swept up in the Harrying of the North – William’s scorched-earth campaign of 1069–70.

Resources Recorded at Kilnwick (1086)

Mills: 1 mill (valued at 1d)
Churches: 1
Meadow: 8 acres
Woodland: 1 * 1 leagues

Other Settlements in Sneculfcros

The Meaning of the Name

The name Kilnwick is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Its final element derives from the Old English word wīc, a dwelling, dairy farm or trading settlement. The first element is most likely a personal name or an early descriptive term, now difficult to recover with certainty. Taken together the name probably meant something close to ‘a specialised farm’.

Remarkably, the name has changed little since 1086, when the Domesday scribes wrote it as Kilnwick.

Listed Buildings Near Kilnwick

Historic England records 8 listed buildings within about a mile of Kilnwick. Listing protects structures of special architectural or historic interest, graded I (exceptional), II* (particularly important) and II.

Grade II*